Goodnight
by skippingthistown
Summary: Tom Riddle had said goodbye to Ginny Weasley five different times during her lifetime, and it was only after that that he refused to say it again.


Goodnight

Rating: T

Summary: Tom Riddle had said goodbye to Ginny Weasley five different times during her lifetime, and it was only after that that he refused to say it again.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Harry Potter Universe (HPU for short) and the "5 times" format is certainly not mine.

A/N: Well, first off thank you for clicking on this over-used format. This is the longest story I have ever written, and I'm super proud of it. Please remember that this is completely un-beta'd, so there's bound to be a plethora of mistakes in here. Reviews would be wonderful, and thank you for reading!

The First Time

A young Ginevra Weasley sat in her bed sobbing. It was her first year at Hogwarts, and nothing was going according to plan. She was friendless, lonely, and her brother was completely ignoring her in favor of his famous friend Harry Potter. It wasn't that she didn't like the boy, gods, she loved Harry as much as her 11 year old heart could. But he was taking away the comfort and attention she craved, and that created a sick feeling in her stomach every time she saw him and her brother laughing down the hallways.

Rubbing her eyes to rid them of the stubborn tears (Ginny was remembering what Ron had said about tears being for babies), she stepped out of her bed and began to silently root through her truck in an effort to find something to take her mind off of her current situation.

Items such as clothing (hand-me-downs from her mother's Hogwarts days), textbooks (they used to be Bill's), and various items she had acquired through her exploration of her home began to form a pile around the small red haired girl. Finally, Ginny was almost to the bottom of her trunk. Shifting away another glittering rock in the vain hope of finding something interesting, Ginny's eyebrows furrowed as she discovered a small black book at the bottom of her trunk.

It was plain in its appearance, a black binding covering pages of parchment that gave off the musky odor of old books. But to Ginny, it was as if a hidden treasure had been discovered. Carelessly throwing everything back into her trunk, she scampered back into her bed to flip through the pages. A small frown pulled down her small features as she realized that it was completely devoid of any writing. Almost giving up hope, Ginevra's brain clicked as she realized the purpose of the diary.

Fishing a quill from her bedside table, Ginny carefully printed the date in the corner of the first page._ September 20, 1992_

As she sat wondering how to start off her new diary, a very curious thing began to happen. Black, swirling ink was appearing on the page directly underneath the date she had just written. With shock, Ginny realized it was forming words.

_So, that must be the year?_

With shaking hands, Ginny prepared to answer the mysterious writing. However, the voice of her father sounded in her head with a long ago warning. _"Don't trust an object that can think for itself, Ginny. Those things have a habit of turning on you eventually."_

But Ginny was a stubborn girl, and loneliness made one do strange things. Gently, she carefully penned a question.

**Who are you?**

The answer was almost immediate.

_My name is Tom Riddle, what is yours?_

**Ginevra Weasley.**

_Why, that's a very pretty name Ginevra. Do you want to tell me more about yourself?_

And so, Ginevra Weasley spilled her heart out to the Tom Riddle diary until late into the night. Upon mentioning the time, a swift response came from the diary-boy.

_I think you should go to bed now. But don't worry, we can talk more tomorrow. Goodnight, Ginevra._

Ginny slept easily this night, for she had finally found a friend. The only thing haunting her dreams was the presence of a small snake in the corner of her mind, watching with hooded red eyes.

The Second Time

Ginevra shivered as she stood at the edge of the gaping hole in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Things had been going wrong in the castle lately, with students being petrified and animal being murdered on the grounds. But the most terrifying thing for Ginny was that she was utterly unable to recall where she was during those incidents. Tom always told her that she was perfectly fine and there was nothing wrong, but somehow Ginny knew that he was lying to her and leading her on. She had attempted to destroy the diary, but then Harry had found it and she just couldn't let him keep it. So here she stood, barely conscious of her own thoughts. Deep inside her mind, she knew that it was all Tom's doing. But she could no longer bring herself to take control of her body and leave.

Slowly and mechanically, Ginevra's feet slipped past the edge of the tunnel. Down she fell, like an Alice of the dark. But she was following no white rabbit, only the convoluted whim of a snake. Finally the descent ended in front of a large wall covered in carvings of snakes and dark creatures.

Ginny's mouth opened without her consent, speaking in a language that time had forgotten and only the Dark would accept.

"_Open."_

The door in front of her groaned, the scraping of rock echoing through the cave as serpents slithered around the locks. Finally the door opened, leaving her free to view something she had only heard about in stories.

The Chamber of Secrets.

Jerkily, Ginny moved to standing the center of the Chamber. Her consciousness had escaped to the dark recesses of her mind, wanting nothing more than to hide away forever and leave the cursed place.

But Tom wasn't letting her. He held her transfixed as a shadow formed in front of her, shaping itself into the image of a boy she had thought she knew. He was shadowy and indistinct, more of a ghost than anything. But he radiated an aura of Dark magic, forcing Ginny to move even further into the recesses of her mind.

Tom smirked, seeing with his own eyes the girl he had been using for the longest time. Skinny and freckled with the trademark red hair of a Weasley, she would have been beautiful if she was allowed to grow up.

A sneer worked its way onto his features. There was no way she would live very long past this moment, and her life and vitality were going to a greater cause than she could possibly contemplate. Tom's mouth opened, speaking for the first time in fifty years:

"Hello Ginevra. It's nice to finally meet you in person. I really must thank you for the life force you gave me, it has been...helpful in creating the image of myself you see here. But I do need one more thing from you." A slight flinch from Ginny showed that the small part of herself still in control was very objected to this idea. With a flourish of his hand, Tom pointed at her.

"My dear, I seem to be needing the rest of your life force. Don't worry, it won't hurt a bit." Another smirk curled across his features, making him look like the serpent the world knew him to be as he leaned in closer. "Goodnight little Ginny."

With that, Tom's mouth locked on hers, sucking out her life with every breath he took. When she was barely conscious, he dropped her to the stone floor and allowed the rest of her life to flood into him without physical contact.

Ginny felt like she was swimming in ice water, barely holding her head above the surface. Words swirled around her mind, flowing through her like ink. Voldemort, Tom, friend, hate, Harry Potter.

She dimly heard someone screaming her name, the smooth voice of Tom answering quickly. Ginny sank beneath the surface then, remembering nothing when she woke.

The Third Time

It was Ginny's third year and the year of the Triwizard Tournament. To everyone else she had completely recovered from the diary incident, and she made sure her appearance reflected this. But inside of Ginny were the memories of a dark haired boy who manipulated her, used her, and poured a little of himself into her during the process. For Ginevra Weasley was no longer the little girl who had entered Hogwarts two years ago. She dreamed of ink words slithering over a blank page, of snakes smirking at her through the darkness.

Her spells were stronger now, she understood the language of snakes, and she had a certain affinity for the Dark Arts. But what scared Ginny the most of what Tom gave her was the little piece of himself imbedded inside her mind. She would hear him sometimes, whispering into her ear and reminding her of how lonely, how friendless, how pathetic she had been. Ginny would grit her teeth and bear it, no one the wiser. She was almost as deceptive as Tom now, her mask of choice the happy and bubbly girl that everyone preferred to see.

But at night, when her mask slipped and the whispers grew louder, Ginny would remember. A little red haired girl on the edge of a tunnel, the same girl alone on her bed. And everywhere she looked she was reminded of Tom.

Clenching her jaw and hardening her mind, Ginny slipped into bed with her eyes closed. It never helped to rid herself of his voice, but it made her feel better nonetheless. Tom was silent for now, allowing her to rest in peace. Ginny slipped under the water of sleep, her mind wrapping in on itself to dream things that only appeared in the nightmares of children.

_In her dream, Ginny was standing in what used to be a forest. But it was charred now, burned beyond recognition. The limbs of the trees were blackened and spindly, pointing at the sky like an army of the damned. Ginny knew this place well, for it was where she came almost every night when she dreamed. It had ceased to amaze and scare her, jaded as she was._

_A rustling sound came from behind her, but Ginny continued to walk along the path that had appeared in front of her. She already knew who it was, and if he need to speak to her he could find her himself._

_Ginny was almost at a clearing when he materialized in front of her. Tom Riddle looked different from his time in the diary, as he had aged with Ginny. He looked about 17 now, his black fringe draped across his forehead and shadowing his blue eyes. Tom looked down at Ginny and smirked, making her shiver slightly in a way that had very little to do with the current setting._

"_Hello Ginevra, its quite nice to see you here." His voice flowed like silk, the same voice that had ensnared a small girl long ago. But Ginny was older now, and his voice was nothing to her._

"_Tom." Her greeting was curt, but Tom smiled anyways. He had corrupted her, even if it had resulted in his downfall._

"_You know Ginevra, you really should not walk alone in a forest like this. The big bad wolf was always very fond of red." Tom's malevolent teasing rolled off of Ginny's back, and she she responded in kind._

"_Of course, Riddle. But the big bad wolf was killed in the end, while Red escaped on her own."_

_A sneer worked its way across the man's face, marring his handsome features. "But there's no hunter to save you here. So tell me Ginevra, how will you pass the Wolf's test this time."_

_The slight tensing of her muscles was the only indication of anger, before Ginny used her body to slam Tom into the nearest tree. "Tell me Tom, do you enjoy being a worthless little half-breed? There's a reason your father hated you, and your mother died rather than to have to look at your face. You're a demon, and nothing could love you in your life and certainly not in your death."_

_Tom's face twisted in front of her, until it resembled a serpent more than a man. He snapped at her, raking her body with claws that had come out of his hands. But Ginny stood by and took the abuse, knowing that she had struck a nerve. "Tell me Tom Marvolo Riddle, did you know that even Salazar Slytherin would have been ashamed of you? He was great, and you are nothing. A speck of dust under the shoe of the greatest wizards of all time. **You failed**. You are a lonely little orphan, and we all hate you, every single person on this planet. Power didn't make you better, power made you weaker than even the smallest of children. So tell me Tom Marvolo Riddle, did you know that you're better off dead?"_

_A sudden swipe of Tom's claws over her spine sent Ginevra spinning to the forest floor. As her blood flowed out of her body, Tom stood above her. "Tell me **this**, little Weasley. Did you know no one loved you? Did you know that you are a pathetic little girl who will forever come in second place to your older brothers? Did you know that no one will ever love **you**, little girl, because you are damaged goods? Could you tell me that?"_

_Shaking, Ginny pulled herself up, her wounds having been healed by the dreamscape. "I know that Tom. And I can live with that."_

_Another smirk formed across Tom's face as he mockingly saluted her. "Well then little Ginevra, we'll just see about that won't we? But it looks like its time for classes now, so goodnight little girl."_

Ginny woke in a cold sweat, covers tangled at her feet. Slowly extracting herself from the bed, she quietly padded to the showers to ready herself before the other girls woke up. As she stood underneath the scalding spray, her mind replayed the events of her dream. Ginny smiled a little smile as she looked at the red tiles of the shower. She had won this round, by using Tom's weaknesses against himself.

But as she stepped in front of the mirror, to brush the tangles out of her long hair, she felt a chill wrap around her like an embrace. Leaning into her ear, Tom whispered the words that had haunted her since the first time he said them; the day after she had been brought up from the Chamber of Secrets.

"Remember little Red, someday your hunter won't be there to save you. And then the Wolf will finally get his meal."

The Fourth Time

Ginevra Weasley stood alone in the Chamber of Secrets, looking at the walls around her. She was fifteen now, and had finally grown into her body. Waist length red hair ran down her back in waves, curving gently where she did. Short red fringe framed her hazel eyes, which looked out with a calculating glance at everything around her. Ginny's mouth turned up in a smirk reminiscent of Tom as she felt his presence appear behind her. Cold arms wrapped around her as he leaned down to press his face into the hair behind her ear. Their relationship had changed somewhat in the past two years, turning into something that neither of them were quite sure how to explain.

"Back to the scene of the crime, are we?" Ginny smiled and leaned back, tilting her head to look Tom straight in the eye.

"It seems the most appropriate place at the moment. After all, who would look for me in the place I almost died?" Tom's chuckle vibrated against her back, as he moved the two of them forwards to the carcass of the basilisk. It was almost completely rotted now, its skin hanging off the bones in tattered strips. A fang was still locked into the jaw, and Ginny reached a hand out to caress it.

They stood like that for some time, each unwilling to move as they thought. Ginevra Weasley and Tom Riddle were now more alike than they would ever admit to another soul, being attached for four years having done much to help them grow. Ginny herself was changed the most, her mind no longer working the way that the mind of a normal teenage girl would. The little girl she had been had grown into the young woman she was now, who could stand with her tormentor and feel nothing but a grim satisfaction for surviving as long as she did.

In the case of Tom, he was more human now than he had ever been or ever would be. He was still cold and manipulative, but there was a passion in his actions that only true humanity could achieve. He was proud of himself, and proud of his little Red. She was stronger than he thought she would be, and more powerful than his wildest dreams could have imagined. It was partially due to his influence on her, but he was impressed nonetheless.

Slowly, Ginny eased around in Tom's arms until she looked him directly in the face. Her eyes flicked across his features, taking in everything. His hair was longer now, almost to his shoulders. His body had more muscle than she remembered, and he was physically a 19 year old.

Of course, Tom noticed the scrutiny and slowly leaned his face down until their noses were touching. Even with Ginny's growth spurt, he still stood a head taller than her.

Leaning his forehead against hers, he slowly opened his mouth. "Do you see something you like, Red?"

With a grin, Ginny leaned the bottom half of her face into his. "Of course."

Their mouths fused together in a battle of tongue and teeth, which was anything but gentle. Tom's hand weaved its way into Ginevra's hair, and Ginny gripped his neck like it was a life raft. They broke away for air, identical smirks crossing their faces as they looked back at each other.

Ginny was the first one to speak. "Well, that was quite a bit better than the last time."

Tom grinned as he realized which event she was speaking of. The last they had kissed in the Chamber hadn't been quite as good as it was this time. Leaning down Tom pressed his face back into her hair, whispering quietly. "Of course, we always could make it even better."

A slow blush spread up Ginny's cheeks, making her face almost as red as her hair. Taking this as an unconscious form of encouragement, Tom leaned in and captured her mouth again.

The two of them stayed like that for an hour, until it was time for Ginny to leave. As she slowly disentangled herself from Tom, she smirked a little at his slight groan of disapproval. It was always enjoyable to get under his skin, even in little ways such as this. Straightening her school skirt, Ginny slowly walked her way to a wall on the other side of the Chamber, unwavering in the knowledge that Tom was following her.

"_Open." _The locks on the door slithered away, revealing a wooden staircase which she knew led to the restricted section of the library. Stepping on the first step, Ginny was pulled back down by Tom's arms which had wound their way to her waist. They stood facing forwards as Ginny waited for him to say his piece.

Finally Tom opened his mouth and began. "It seems just yesterday that you said that very same thing coming into the Chamber. But of course, a lot has changed since then." A hard look entered his eyes, an emotion flitting across them that he had finally been able to place. "I remember, you once thought yourself in love with Potter. I do hope that changed also."

For a moment Ginny was still, barely breathing. And then she collapsed into hysterics, leaning heavily against Tom in an effort to stop from falling on the ground. Slowly, she managed to regain some semblance of calm. "I do believe you're jealous, Mr. Riddle."

Tom's face slowly scrunched, a habit he had picked up from Ginny when she was 12. "I simply do not like arrogant little boys interfering with what belongs to me."

Ginny smiled, finding a sort of kindness in his words through their rude quality. "Well trust me, I don't like arrogant little boys in general. Especially those who can't seem to make up their mind."

Tom's answering smile was hidden beneath Ginny's curtain of hair. Slowly releasing her, he whispered one last time into her ear before disappearing. "Goodnight, my little Red."

The Fifth Time

It was the battle of Hogwarts, and all around Ginny her comrades were dropping dead. Firing off a quick _Avada_ at an approaching Death Eater, she escaped to the relative safety of a boulder to observe the tactics of the other side. If living with Tom had taught her anything, it was that everything had a weakness no matter how impenetrable it appeared. Slowly, she gathered in her mind the battle plan of the opposing side.

The Death Eaters were spending more time focusing on protecting themselves than their comrades. Entire holes were left open in their ranks, where they had ran off in an attempt to keep themselves safe. It kept their numbers larger than that of Dumbledore's Army, but it meant that they were all crowding onto the edge of the field. This meant that if you fired an _Avada_, you would only be able to pick them off one by one.

"Try an _Incendio_ at the clumps." With a nod to Tom and a quick peck on the cheek, Ginny ran back off into the fray. Tom smiled as she took his advice and a group of Death Eaters went up in flames.

However, Tom's eyes widened in shock as he noticed a Death Eater advancing on Ginny while her back was turned. The man was forming a _Sectumsepra _ with his mouth, it was flying towards Ginevra...

Ginny turned around at the sudden noise behind her. Her mouth opened in silent horror when she saw the glittering form of Tom behind her, three ragged gashes across his chest. She knew he couldn't bleed to death, but his essence was slowly leaving him as he stood there. He was able to die, because he was linked to her, but unable to bleed as he had no body.

With a small smile, Tom raised his head and used his final strength to tell Ginny one last thing before he faded away completely. "Goodnight, I love you."

The final battle saw Ginevra Weasley at her fiercest. Her spells were darker than the Death Eaters she fought, and many a soul fell at the end of her wand. If you looked close enough, you would see the hardened look in her eyes and the tear tracks drying down her cheeks. But no one who was close enough to see lived long enough to noticed, as she threw Dark curses faster than a gunshot.

At the end of the battle, after the final confrontation between Voldemort and Harry Potter, Ginny was found on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, looking out at the trees. With a final _Incendio_, the trees themselves went up in flames. No one was sure why she had done it, but after the flames had been put out, the forest resembled that of her nightmares as a younger girl, when Tom Riddle would visit her at night.

The Only Time

It was sixty-seven years after the Final Battle, and Ginevra Weasley was finally dying. The man who loved her, Harry Potter, would disagree about the finally part, but Ginny couldn't care less. There were several reasons she refused to marry him, and his insistence on being optimistic about living was one of them. For someone who had fallen in love with a dead man, life was not really all that important to her. But now it was finally over, and she could leave the world.

Ginevra Weasley passed this life at midnight on August 23, dying in a peaceful sleep. Or, what would have been peaceful for anyone who was not Ginny.

But as stated before, that was all in the past. The first thing Ginny saw when she opened her eyes in the afterlife was her brother Fred leaning over her, smiling with a grin wider than life. He was followed by her parents, Order members, and other people who had at one point played a key point in her life. But the man she needed to see was not there, and it saddened Ginny.

Quietly excusing herself from her family (keeping up her mask, despite how unnecessary it was now), Ginny walked off into the woods at the edge of the clearing she had found herself in. Going a little ways, the trees began to become sickly and twisted the further she went into the forest. Ginny smiled widely as she noticed the trees beginning to take on the appearance of being burnt. There was a path now, that had appeared out of nowhere underneath her feet. A presence behind her made her start, but Ginny kept walking, knowing that if they needed to speak to her they would.

The sudden presence of arms around her waist halted her, forcing her to slam into the chest of the person behind her. Well-known muscles grated against her back, and Ginny knew who was holding her even before her body was able to turn around.

"Well, well, Ginevra Weasley had joined us at last." Tom smirked down at Ginny's head as he spoke, the once again red hair almost reflective in the light.

His distraction worked against him, as he was utterly unprepared for Ginny to turn around and tackle him to the ground. She leaned on his arms over him looking down at him with an expression that reminded him distinctly of the way she looked at Harry Potter in her first year. But this time the look was directed at Tom, and did not find it nearly as repulsive as he had all those years ago.

A smirk worked its way onto his features as he lifted up his hands and placed them on Ginny's waist, pulling her down against him. "It looks like someone missed me."

Ginny's answering smirk was nothing short of amazing to Tom, who had been unable to see it for sixty-seven years. "And judging from your reaction, you've missed me also."

Tom chuckled and pulled her even closer against his "reaction". There was nothing in between them now, and he planned to take full advantage of that. The two of them lived forever in the burned wood, their afterlife fraught with nightmares and demons. But Tom Riddle and Ginevra Weasley had never been the most normal people in the world, and they wouldn't have had it any other way.

Tom Riddle was not going to say goodbye to her again, no matter what the cost.


End file.
